Hope everyone had a celebratory Fourth - I drove to the far, far, North Suburbs in Lake County to a BBQ where the entire tray of freshly grilled brats and dogs went flying across a kitchen. I was much amused at the time but not everyone else saw the irony.

In any event, several MSM columns for your attention:

The well-connected and very conservative Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak was granted a rare interview by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in which Daley again blasted Illinois Senator Richard Durbin for his recent remarks on Guantanamo. Neither interviews nor conservative Republican journalists are Daley's style so evidently Durbin's apology did not take. The chances of Durbin facing a primary challenge are now excellent unless he manages to appease the Mayor, who has a very long memory.

"For the U.S. to crusade in every part of the world to spread democracy may be beyond our capacity," he says. The U.S. system, he explains, "is the product of unique historical experiences, difficult to duplicate or to transplant into Muslim societies where secular democracy has seldom thrived." If ever."

Something that could have easily been uttered by Henry Stimson - which he did - but about Eastern Europeans rather than Arabs.

Last but not least, Bruce Kesler ( who informed me via email that he is nota conservative, as I incorrectly identified him earlier) blasts " Armchair Warriors" not for their aggressiveness but their timidity.

That's it.

POSTSCRIPT:

I have two book reviews in the works that I promised earlier along with a number of other posts. " Real-life " though mundane responsibilities are delaying me somewhat along with a surge of email, some of it rather hostile, which leads me to reiterate the following philosophy for this blog, yet again:

My linking to blog or article, in a post or blogroll does not imply an endorsement, just that I think the subject is interesting. Please stop asking me to delete - to cite several requests among many - Juan Cole or the Armageddon Project or whomever else you find objectionable. Feel free to disagree with their arguments in the comments or on your own blog, just don't lobby me to join in your crusade. It's my blog and I'll link to whomever I please.